The medium components of nitrilase production by Arthrobacter nitroguajacolicus ZJUTB06-99 were optimized in this study. Effects of factors such as carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and inducers on nitrilase production were investigated. Glucose, yeast extract, and $varepsilon$-caprolactam were chosen as the suitable components. Moreover, experiments were carried out to fix the concentration of three factors for the zero coded level of variables in the subsequent optimization. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were employed for further optimization. A quadratic model was found to fit the nitrilase activity and the variables. The results revealed that the optimized medium contained (%, w/v) 2.80, glucose; 0.57, yeast extract; and 0.42, $varepsilon$-caprolactam. Validation experiments were carried out under the optimized conditions and nitrilase activity of 107.49 U/L was close to the predicted activity 110.82 U/L. After optimization, the nitrilase activity attained 2.86 fold of activity compared to the unoptimized conditions and the conversion of acrylonitrile was significantly improved. The strain growth curve and nitrilase activity alteration in the course of culture were tested. The cells were suitably harvested after cultured for 72~78 h.